Real Madrid 2016

Ever thought what Galactico version would the media be naming Real Madrid in say 5 years down the line? Who do you think would be the striker? Would Ronaldo be still scoring amazing goals or will he be still hitting all the balls on the wall during the FK? Will Bernabeu still be screaming San Iker’s name? Will Pepe be still making everyone on the field scared including the refs? And most importantly would ‘The Special One’ be still in-charge of ‘The Most Special’ club? Will Neymar be there? Who shall return Sarabia or Canales? So here I am fabricating my thought process to the core to craft an established Real Madrid squad for 2016-17 season.

Note: I have made this squad keeping the original Galactico policy in mind.

Starting XI 2016

By now Real Madrid is known for their 4-2-3-1 line-up, hence this Karanka’s line-up also being of the same mould and an involving extra attacking intent with all 6 midfielders able enough to assist as well as score goals.

Marouane Fellaini adds to the physical factor where as Nuri Sahin balances with his subtle moves. Mesut Özil being one of the players with the highest assist tally in the league supports Pablo Sarabia and Eden Hazard to make their run and also for Karim Benzema to add the cherry on the cake. With the skills and speed of Sarabia and Hazard that completes a fearsome attacking force with Benzema at his pinnacle.

Dani Carvajal and Marcelo are known for their overlapping runs so if needed they can add to the attack. Raphaël Varane with his positioning & aerial ability and with Sergio Ramos completing a full circle by now playing as a centre back which he last played at Sevilla, Merengues’s defence looks tight and balanced. And when you have San Iker between the posts defenders normally have an easy day every day.

So it can easily be said that Mourinho was right about every word he said before he left Real Madrid that being “When I leave this club shall not crumble cause the point at which I am leaving this club, more than they being dependant on me I was dependant on them. I say this because Madrid is a club with the strongest spine and the boldest heart.”

THE SQUAD:

Strikers:

The Strikers

1. Karim Benzema (28 yrs): Has finally settled at Bernabeu and is now in the list of top 5 goal scorers in La Liga.
2. Neymar Jr. (24 yrs): The lanky Brazilian is regular on the score sheet and has now gone bald.
3. Álvaro Morata (23 yrs): A Canternaro for whom Barcelona is ready to pay anything to have his services.

Midfielders:

The Midfielders

1. Pablo Sarabia (24 yrs): He returned from Manchester United a year back and is now a regular in the starting 11.
2. Mesut Özil (27 yrs): He is still the finding Nemo of the football world with Bayern Munich failed twice to sign him in past five years.
3. Eden Hazard (25 yrs): Considered Zidane’s fifth son, Hazard has shown why Zidane was ready to leave the club if they had not signed him in the 2012 transfer window.
4. Marouane Fellaini (28 yrs): With Khedira leaving the club to play for Manchester United in an exchange deal for Sarabia, the Belgian was the perfect replacement.
5. Nuri ?ahin (28 yrs): Since the horrific injury prone start to his career as a Blanco in 2011, Sahin is not the player to have played most number of games in La Liga in the past 5 seasons.
6. Fran Pastor (22 yrs): Another target of Barcelona especially as they remember the nightmare the then 17 yr old Pastor gave to the Barcelona B side in 2011.
7. Alex Fernandez (23 yrs): One half of the Fernandez brothers, Alex is now the most sought after young central midfielder in the world.
8. Maxime Gonalons (27 yrs): Another smart choice by Zidane he is a perfect utility player who can play at any position in the midfield.

Defenders:

The Defenders

1. Marcelo (28 yrs): His hairs are still the best fakers in the industry yeah better than Messi also only reason because they never listen to the Brazilian.
2. Sergio Ramos (30 yrs): Ramos is not dating his 17^th girlfriend whom he has finally decided to marry but on the field he is in love with Bernabeu the same way he was when he joined from Sevilla.
3. Raphaël Varane (23 yrs): Varane is the perfect prototype of the new mould of young CB who is speedy as well as perfect distributor of the ball.
4. Daniel Carvajal (24 yrs): Has made the RB position at Real Madrid his own since Ramos shifted to the CB role.
5. Davide Santon (25 yrs): After getting over his injury problems in 2011 he helped Newcastle finish 3^rd in EPL in 2013-14 season and is now known by his identity & not the new Maldini.
6. Nacho (26 yrs): The second half of the Fernandez brother is perfect replacement for ‘growing old’ Ramos and still every year gets a photo clicked with Alex in his arms.

Goal Keepers:

The Goalkeepers

1. Iker Casillas (35 yrs): He has confirmed he is capable to play another season and has put a stamp on the famous saying “You can’t take Casillas out of Bernabeu and neither can you take Bernabeu out of Casillas.”
2. Antonio Adán (29 yrs): Adán has been a loyal servant of Real Madrid and plays most of the Copa del Rey and group Stages of UCL, San Iker says “Adán is a perfect student”.

Managerial Board:

Real Madrid Organization

Alfredo Di Stéfano Laulhé

Honorary President

Zinedine Yazid Zidane

Director of Technical and Scouts

Aitor Karanka de la Hoz

Sport Manager and First Team Coach

Raúl González Blanco

Real Madrid Castilla Coach

José María Gutiérrez Hernández

Assistant Manager (now he does all the trash talking)

Iker Casillas Fernández

Player and Goalkeeping Coach

Fernando Ruiz Hierro

Head of Public Relation

Alvaro Arbeloa Coca

Head of Social Marketing

Kay Murray

Executive Director of Real Madrid TV

The Ex-Blancos:

Cristiano Ronaldo: He is now a leading Hollywood actor and is now married to Anne Hathaway.

Ricardo Kaka: Has added to Chelsea’s misery firstly he never signed for them and now has opened a Training academy next to Stamford Bridge where he trains kids with Real Madrid having the first right to bring in the youngsters. Also Kaka is overseeing the construction of a chapel in Valdebebas so that trainings can be conducted immediately after Sunday mass and his wife can conduct the choirs there.

Alvaro Arbeloa: He is now the handler for @realmadrid and is very happy as he doesn’t even have to wait for the match to end. And for English tweets, he takes assistance from Iker.

Xabi Alonso: Always known to keep a low profile as a player and now also he has taken up another place in the club where he still keeps a low profile as he manages the Real Madrid Hotel and Department store. Whereas his wife Nagore, she is the trend setter at the Bernabeu with her running the Real Madrid Fashion Boutique.

Pepe: Having lived all his life in the lime light of being a bully on the field Pepe now enjoys his peaceful life as Executive Director of Real Madrid Sports Center.

Esteban Granero: He is now the official counsellor and psychiatrist for Real Madrid football clubs.

Sara Carbonero (Mrs. Casillas): There are some perks of being the wife of a Merengues legend and when you are a reporter getting your own show on Real Madrid TV is surely a big prize. And the casting of her show involves the world famous World Cup interview kissing clip with hubby Iker and that’s what I call an added incentive.

As for Higuain he, from being a prolific goal scorer at Bernabeu, is now a Red Devil and Fábio Coentrão has returned to Portuguese League and is also the proud owner of chain of Fábio-lous Hair Saloons spread across the world.

The Special One:

‘The Special One’

Jose Mourinho is now the coach of Portugal NT after leading Manchester United to doubles in two consecutive seasons. Before leaving he was quoted saying he would never return to England as the place is unlucky for him to win the Champions League. He occasionally comes to Nuevo Bernabeu to see the video of his eye poke on the giant screen and now owns an island & calls it ‘The Special Land’.

The New Bernabeu:

El Nuevo Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid is now playing in their new State of the art Stadium, here are few of its features:

• VIP suites for referees complete with Jacuzzi and masseurs with complimentary champagne and caviar.
• 5 separate O- rooms for quick injury recovery process. O-rooms are oxygen rooms which has oxygen in-flow at a particular level to speed up the rehabilitation process for the injured players.
• An Indoor beach in the basement so that model girlfriends don’t feel bored during the trainings.
• 3 helipads on the roof as Florentino Perez is too rich to travel by car.
• A big screen displaying the best facebook statuses and tweets at half-time selected by Social head Alvaro Arbeloa himself.
• A hanging stage in the middle of the Bernabeu for half time performances by global celebrities.
• A museum totally dedicated to Jose Mourinho which would include his pictures, his chaos, his words, his smirks and a golden book with all his master tactics (out of bound for young coaches).

What will be your starting eleven? Feel free to share by commenting

This post was written by Srijan Choudhary. Follow Srijan on twitter